The2012 Korean Grand Prix (formally known as the2012 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix)^[1] was aFormula One motor race that was the sixteenth round of the2012 Formula One season. It was held on 14 October 2012 at theKorea International Circuit nearYeongam inSouth Korea'sSouth Jeolla Province.^[5] The race marked the third running of theKorean Grand Prix.^[6]

2012 Korean Grand Prix
Race 16 of 20 in the2012 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details
Date	14 October 2012
Official name	2012 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix[1]
Location	Yeongam,South Jeolla,South Korea
Course	Korea International Circuit
Course length	5.621[2] km (3.493 miles)
Distance	55 laps, 309.155 km (192.100 miles)
Weather	Fine and Dry[3]Air Temp 21 °C (70 °F)[3] Track Temp 27 °C (81 °F) dropping to 23 °C (73 °F)[3]
Attendance	Poor[4]
Pole position
Driver	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault
Time	1:37.242
Fastest lap
Driver	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault
Time	1:42.037 on lap 54
Podium
First	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
Second	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault
Third	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Lap leaders

Mark Webber started the race from pole alongsideSebastian Vettel,^[7] who went on to win the race.^[8] With championship rivalFernando Alonso finishing third, Vettel took a six-point championship lead.^[9] The organisers of the race invited Korean rapperPSY to wave the chequered flag.^[10] This wasRed Bull's only 1-2 finish of the year.

In the week before the race, theFIA announced that thedrag reduction system zone on the circuit would be altered from its2011 position, bringing the activation point forward by 200 metres (660 ft).^[11][12] The detection point was brought forward; in 2011, it was positioned between the first two corners, but for 2012, it was moved to be 90 metres (300 ft) before the first corner.

Like the2011 Korean Grand Prix, tyre supplier Pirelli brought its yellow-banded soft compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the red-banded supersoft compound tyre as the softer "option" tyre.^[13]

Marussia'sCharles Pic was given a ten-place grid penalty for exceeding the maximum number of engines that he was permitted to use over the course of the season.^[14]

Several reserve drivers took the place of regular drivers for the first free practice session.Giedo van der Garde drove in place ofCaterham'sVitaly Petrov, whileJules Bianchi replacedNico Hülkenberg atForce India,Valtteri Bottas droveBruno Senna'sWilliams andDani Clos tookNarain Karthikeyan's place atHRT.^[15]

In contrast to the practice sessions of the2010 and2011 races, the first free practice session of the 2012 race took place in dry conditions.Lewis Hamilton ended the session as fastest driver, three tenths of a second ahead ofFernando Alonso — who had led most of the ninety-minute session — withMark Webber in third place.^[15]Sebastian Vettel was fastest in the second session,^[16] leading teammate Webber and Alonso in third. Like the first session, the second passed without incident, althoughSergio Pérez was forced out after forty-five minutes of running when hisSauber lost all power and ground to a halt at Turn 12. Pérez was able to safely park the car, allowing the session to continue uninterrupted.

Mark Webber, who qualified on pole, lost his lead at start to teammateSebastian Vettel at the first turn. Lewis Hamilton lost his third place to Alonso on first lap, while his team mateJenson Button had to retire after a collision with Kobayashi, who also collided withNico Rosberg of Mercedes.Lewis Hamilton made a pit stop on lap 14, creating a chain reaction where Massa and Webber stopped on lap 15 and finally Vettel and Alonso stopped on lap 16. The latter rejoined side-by-side with Sergio Pérez, outdragging him on the back straight. Hamilton seized his opportunity and swept around the outside of Pérez just a few corners later.Felipe Massa moved to 4th place after overtaking Hamilton who was suffering from an anti-roll bar failure on his car, which led him to lose couple of places in the race. Massa was quickly gaining on his teammate when he was told to hold his position on his team radio as Alonso was the championship contender. At the end of the race Vettel was continuously told on his team radio to slow down and save tyres as he had a problem with tyre degradation on his right-front tyre. Vettel finished first and took a six-point lead in the Championship over third-placedFernando Alonso, who had led since theEuropean Grand Prix. Webber finished second, setting the fastest lap. Lewis Hamilton finished 10th after battling for position with the twoToro Rossos ofDaniel Ricciardo andJean-Éric Vergne, but fell back in the closing laps as a piece ofAstroTurf got stuck on one of his car's sidepods.

Notes:

• ^1 —Daniel Ricciardo received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.^[17]
• ^2 —Charles Pic was given a ten-place grid penalty for exceeding the maximum number of engines permitted for use over the course of the season.^[14]
• ^3 —Narain Karthikeyan failed to set a time after having a brake failure. He was allowed to race at the stewards' discretion.

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
• Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.